Pretty as a Pitcher!

Please excuse the cheesy title of this post but believe me it could have been much worse.  I was initially toying with the idea of going with 'Pitcher This!'  and then I though what about  'Nice Jugs!' so you see what I mean!

Anyway, you have probably guessed that the subject of this week's post is pitchers and jugs and here are a few that I have had in the past and some more that are patiently sitting on the shelf of my office waiting for a new home.   

The first example is this barbotine (French majolica) pitcher in the form of a duck by the maker St. Clément.  I often see them when I'm out and about so I finally gave in and decided to buy one.  He was pretty mucky when I found him and he looked a bit unloved so being the former owner of a little duck that looks quite similar (Claude who has moved to the duckpond in our local park in Cognac along with his buddy Jacques) I just couldn't resist.

Click here to link to his listing on my Etsy Shop

A real favourite of mine are enamel pitchers and jugs and I buy them whenever I can because they are equally decorative inside the home or out in the garden and have a great shabby-chic/vintage look that's still so popular.  This particular one I have kept for myself because there were some pin hole pricks in the side that I missed when I purchased it.  Luckily a bit of clear silicone has solved this problem but having found another one in better condition I put that one up for sale in it's place. 

This little jug is another example of barbotine and is from the Art Nouveau/Belle Epoque period.  At present it is still waiting for a new owner on my Etsy shop.

Click here to link to it's listing on my Etsy Shop

This little pitcher has beautiful pale duck egg blue enamel and would look great on the table filled with flowers in a country or shaker style kitchen.

Click here to link to it's listing on my Etsy shop

This one I sold some time ago.  I secretly wanted to keep it after filling it with lilacs and photographing it so I was genuinely sad to see it go!

This last little fellow is from the same maker as the duck (St. Clement) but completely different in style.  Modelled as an owl with a lovely bright yellow glaze I don't think it will be long before he finds a new home.

Click here to link to his listing on my Etsy Shop

The Trials of Le Chineur

Well it's that time of year when every weekend there are so many brocante markets to choose from that it can be a bit hit and miss but even so we do somehow usually manage to find a few eclectic trucs to stock my Etsy shop.

A lovely set of vintage French fairytale books took my eye recently

The brocantes are often mixed with vide greniers (a kind of car boot sale) which tend to have fairly modern bits that local people want to get rid of.  It is rare to find a treasure amongst these things but when you do they are invariably cheap.  

I paid more than I wanted to for this gorgeous enamel jug but it looks
great in my bedroom and it was an excuse to buy some pretty flowers 

Having spent a couple of years getting up at the crack of dawn to set up a brocante stall myself I can understand that the professional dealers are there to make a profit but unfortunately this often leaves too small a margin for me.  

This tactile copper ladle was a happy find from a private seller

To get around the flea markets without wasting too much time Spike and myself use the code "P.O.P." when we want to tell each other that there is nothing worth looking at on a particular stall. These initials represent the phrase 'pile of poop' which could potentially offend English speaking dealers so it's best to be cautious and to remember to always use the code.

A dealer sold this wine funnel/strainer to me with a couple of
other bits - all I need now is the vintage wine to go with it!

It may sound crazy but sometimes I feel quite low after a couple of hours or looking at other people's junk.  The amount of broken bits of plastic tat that we find piled up on an ever increasing amount of the stalls is enough to make you want to weep and shout up to the sky "WHYYYYYYYYY!" (if you must do this don't forget to flail your arms about for dramatic effect).

An English lady was packing up and moving to Spain so I picked up this
cute little Limoges coffee set just when I was about to give up and go home

It's when we have had a run of bad shopping expeditions (can you tell we've had a few lately?) that it's important to remember to treat these excursions as a pleasant trip out and to get over ourselves.

There is so much to enjoy at these flea markets aside from the buying not least the banter with the stall holders, the pretty country car trips to engaging destinations and the fact that we regularly bump into friends.

Only a couple of weeks back we enjoyed a chat with this charming old man who was sharpening knives on his fascinating vintage contraption.

To borrow a well worn phrase (or a rough estimation of it) - I must try to remember that it's not the destination that's important but the journey (but I won't lie it's always better if you can pick up a few interesting trucs on the way!)

Any Old Iron!

I have noticed a trend in my buying lately that around 90% of my stock is made of metal. I seem to be drawn to silver, silver plate, copper, tin, enamelled metal, brass and iron. Even when I make a conscious effort to buy something wooden, glass or ceramic I still find myself rushing towards something large, often rusty and nearly always incredibly heavy.  

Luckily I have to keep the weight down on my Etsy shop items otherwise my postage fees would be ridiculous.  Without this constraint I do believe we would have a house and yard full of scrap metal and anyone who's watched the vintage series Steptoe & Son will know that this is not a good thing.

Take last week for example I came away with some lovely buys for my shop but all but one of them (a pretty English teapot) was made from some form of metal.  

I found this super 'Foie gras' set in silver plate

I also bought this gorgeous 'Lu' biscuit display tin from the Belle Epoque era but have decided I can't bear to part with it so it's mine, mine, mine!!!

I did manage to stray from the metal by buying this lovely glass lamp but again it's mine, mine, mine (well it does match my bedside lamp perfectly!)

This money box is a new purchase from my ever growing range of tins

 And this tin I just couldn't ignore because it's so BIG!

These lovely Art Deco knife rests are once again silver plated

And this 1930s Mirror and brush set is a mixture of guilloche enamel and metal so that's kind of departure... isn't it???

This beautiful lantern is made of brass (and a bit of glass!)

And finally, I couldn't pass by this rusty old vintage advertising sign (which was very nearly a keeper but I am resisting... for now!) for the French aperitif 'Byrrh' (please don't ask me to pronounce it).

So I'm afraid that as much as I try to tell myself to stay away from the hard stuff it can be so varied and interesting I honestly can't make any promises!

Antique Hunting in Angoulême

There is a brocante coming up this weekend just 3 kilometers from our home so we have decided to reserve a pitch.  Having decided not to attend a brocante we had booked for a few weeks back this will be our first of the season so with this in mind last Sunday I went out on the hunt for a few more interesting trucs to add to my stock.  It was a bit of an overcast day but ideal for shopping as there is nothing worse than getting hot and bothered when your trying to sift through all the goodies on offer.  

Because my Mum and her husband were over from England for a visit we thought that the most picturesque and interesting brocante to visit would be one held in the supremely elegant Place New York in Angoulême. Luckily there was also a vide grenier which is a kind of car boot sale in a suburb of Angoulême called St. Cybard so I had hopes that one of the two markets would come good.

The Market at the Place New York, Angoulême

Even if your not into antiques the architecture is stunning

The amazing Hôtel de Ville (it's good to be Mayor!)

A view from the Hôtel de Ville to the covered market

The labyrinth of cobbled medieval streets

As it turned out the little flea market in St. Cybard was much more suited to my budget and I managed to buy some really interesting little trucs.  Unfortunately the wonderful and genuine antiques on offer at the Place New York market were well out of my league.  

In my innocence I picked up an elegant vintage car mascot and thought that aside from the obvious use it would make a super paperweight so with that in mind I casually asked the dealer the price.  I put it down pretty quickly when he said 400€.  It might well have been worth that and more but I must confess that mascots are not my area of expertise (unless they are of the doughnut variety -mmmmm..... mascotte aux pommes)

Anyway, it was well worth seeing a proper antique market in such a charming setting and admiring all their lovely wares.  You never know one day I may have the money to match my obviously exceptional taste but for the time being, sadly, I must cut my coat according to my cloth.   

The New Brocante Season

Well this years brocante season has truly begun and having found myself a bit low on stock I decided that instead of having a pitch at the first few markets I would try get out and chiner a few objects.

The brocante that really marks the beginning of the season in the Poitou-Charentes area of France is held in the small village of Le Gicq and we spent a lovely sunny morning wandering from stall to stall and chatting to fellow brocanteurs.  Here are some of the interesting trucs I found that day.

Cute Europa Miniature Alarm Clock - Link to Etsy

Vintage embroidery print roller - Link to Etsy

Post War Fashion Magazines - Link to Etsy

Belle Epoque photo frame - Link to Etsy

I was so happy with my little haul that I swiftly booked for a large brocante that is held twice a year in the car park of a Hypermarket not far from us in the historic town of Saintes.  Last year I didn't book and we nearly didn't get a pitch so I was determined that the same wouldn't happen again this year.  So having booked a stretch of 5 metres on the phone I happily rode off on my Miss Marple bike with the dogs in tow to the nearest post box and sent off a cheque for 17,50€ to reserve my place.

A week of glorious sunshine passed (I even got my shorts out much to Spike's amusement) but as the market got closer and closer it became obvious the weather was not going to be kind.  With reports of winds of up to 50kph (that's about 30mph) and continual rain we decided the night before to cut our losses.

The next morning we woke up late to find the sun peeping through our bedroom window (aghhhhhhhh!) There was no rain and not a breeze in sight.  Spike went down to feed the chickens and gingerly reported back that it was very cold outside but that did little to appease me.

Over a sulky breakfast I decided that we should go along anyway and do some more buying for the stall and my Etsy shop.  Spike looked decidedly panicked as visions of me stomping around the market in a huff whilst repeating over and over the phrase "we made the wrong choice" were no doubt flashing through his mind.  

The Brocante in Saintes

We arrived at about 10.30am and as predicted it was indeed chilly.  The wind was beginning to pick up and thoughts of stock being broken and me sitting there with a big red drippy nose left me feeling very relieved that we hadn't been stuck there since 7am that morning (big sigh of relief from Spike too). 

It also seemed that we weren't the only no-shows.  The market was much smaller than last year and having spoken to a few of the stall holders it did seem that they were having a slow day in regards to sales (the lady doth protest too much, methinks!)   Well, one consolation is that I found these lovely trucs, amongst others, so the day wasn't a complete disaster after all.

Beautiful French Vintage Teapot - Link to Etsy

Art Deco Bookends - Link to Etsy

French Vintage Powder Compact - Link to Etsy

A chilly old day for the stall holders - hee hee (no that's mean... sorry!)

I must confess that I find deciding which markets to book a pitch at very hard to second guess and a brocante that is brilliant one year can often be very disappointing on another.  It's just a matter of taking the rough with the smooth so next time I mess up I shall take a moment to meditate on the very wise words below and try to regain a sense of perspective.  The steaming hot cup of coffee would probably do the trick too.

A Vintage Birthday

It was my birthday this week and having entered this world in February 1970 I guess that makes me at the grand of age of 44 'vintage' or is that 'retro'?

In a bid to cheer me up (there's not so much to celebrate once you've hit your 40's) Spike came home from work the day before with a beautiful bunch of flowers that brightened up the house with a much needed shot of colour during this dark, cold and soggy time of year!

Something I've noticed recently is that the trucs that surrounded me as a child are now considered vintage/retro too and although I am much more into the 1920's and 1930's I thought it would be great fun to embrace the current trend and have lunch in the kind of traditional French restaurant that was commonplace during my early childhood in the 1970's.

On the morning of my birthday we woke up to a cold, wet and blustery day (which unfortunately is not uncommon on my birthday) and decided it would be good to go somewhere cosy where we would feel cocooned from the raging elements outside.  This was one of the reasons we chose a lovely restaurant we had discovered in the St. Jacques quarter of Cognac called Les Pigeons Blancs.

Having decided to park a little way away from the restaurant (never again!) we tumbled in the entrance like two frozen popsicles to be greeted warmly by the charming owner. Les Pigeons Blancs was everything we had hoped to find in a traditional restaurant but what we really didn't expect was the amazing quality of the food.  For two gourmands (ie. piggies) we found ourselves well and truly in our element.  

Wonderful sea bream with asparagus and butter sauce

I must confess though that the main (and I admit slightly immature) reason for choosing this particular restaurant was that it was the only one that continued the tradition of THE DESSERT TROLLEY and, oh joy of joys, when this bastion of the 1970's was discreetly wheeled over to our table we were not to be disappointed!  

The dessert trolley of our retro/vintage dreams!

Les Desserts au Chariot consisted of many of the old 1970's favourites but with a slightly updated/local twist like the 'Cognac' Babas and a modern take on a traditional Black Forest Gateau.  I plumped for the more gooey desserts (which the waiter assured me were not fattening at all!) of a lemon mousse on a dark chocolate sponge, an exotic fruit cheesecake and yummy coffee meringues.  

My very 'light' selection from the Chariot

I had a wonderful birthday lunch at Les Trois Pigeons and would not hesitate to visit again in the summer so that I can enjoy another sensational meal and sit and sun myself on their delightful terrace.  However, looking at the photos I must confess that I'm starting to feel a bit peckish now so I'll be off.... the diet starts tomorrow!   

Eclectic 'Trucs'

Well there's not much going on in the brocante calender in France right now and to be honest even if there was it's been so cold lately that I honestly don't think I could manage to keep a smile on my face all day (a scary grimace would probably be all I could muster) .

I decided therefore to visit a local flea market last weekend as a punter (well to be honest I had originally intended to have a stall at but with one thing and another I left it too late to book and didn't get a pitch). Fortunately this regrettable oversight on my part did make snuggling up in bed under a lovely warm duvet all the more pleasurable, especially coupled with the delicious thought that at that very moment we could be outside bickering with each other in the dark in the struggle to scrape ice off the windscreen of the van.

Having finally persuaded ourselves to tumble out of bed and enjoy a leisurely (and somewhat smug) breakfast we moseyed down to the brocante to do a bit of buying, determined to make the best out of what proved to be a bit of a lost opportunity (the market turned out to be a really good one... note to myself for next year... lazy lazy lazy... but so warm and snugly!).  

I have to say that I genuinely felt for the dealers (the ones who had managed to get their crap together and reserve a place!) as I watched them stamp their feet to keep out the cold and cup their frozen hands over mugs of steaming hot coffee.  It was then that I realised that I obviously don't have that degree of dedication and would have to wait to emerge, like a butterfly from a chrysalis (or a sleepy old tortoise from hibernation... take your pick!) sometime in the spring.

With all this in mind I have taken the uncharacteristic decision to be proactive, in a warm and comfortable kind of way of course, and to fill the long winter months grappling with my new 'Etsy' shop on the Internet (soon to be opened when I manage to get around to it... probably sometime after the Christmas rush!)   

Anyway with this new venture in mind here are some of the 'trucs' of a more eclectic/quirky nature that I picked up last week:-

 'Amuse Gueules' aperitif tray from the Belle Epoque period

Charming shabby chic biscuit tin from Montpellier 

French vintage bellows camera from the 1940s

Delightful antique biscuit/butter mould depicting Saint Basil

If my super little 'trucs' fail to charm others as much as they have charmed me and remain unsold over the winter do not fear!  They will still be loved and have already found their respective places in the ever decreasing nooks and crannies of my home while they wait (a bit like myself) to be unleashed back into the real (and considerably warmer) world of antique dealing next year.

     

The hunt for that elusive 'truc'

truc1 [tryk] nm Fam (chose) thing, thingumajig, thingummy, thingy

Truc is one of my favourite words in the French language and can be extremely useful if you don’t know the word for something or in many cases in the world of antiques what it's for.  My market stall is full of wonderful ‘trucs’ and I look forward to sharing some of my finds with you during my quest for those eclectic, elusive and as yet unknown ‘things’.